KR20010110413A - Methods utilizing scanning probe microscope tips and products therefor or produced thereby - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a nanolithographic method, comprising: (i) providing a substrate; (ii) providing a nanoscopic tip coated with a patterning compound; (iii) contacting the coated tip with the substrate so that the patterning compound is applied to the substrate to produce a desired pattern; and (iv) wherein the patterning compound is anchored to the substrate.

Description

Method of using scanning probe microscope tip and product for this method or product produced by this method {METHODS UTILIZING SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPE TIPS AND PRODUCTS THEREFOR OR PRODUCED THEREBY}

Lithographic methods are currently widely used in microfabrication, nanotechnology and molecular electronics. These methods often rely on the patterning of the resist film followed by the chemical etching of the substrate.

The dip pen technology, where ink on sharp objects is transported on paper by capillary forces, has a history of about 4000 years (Ewing, The Fountain Pen: A Collector's Companion (Running Press Book Publishers, Philadelphia, 1997)). . Transporting molecules on a large scale has been used extensively throughout history.

With the present invention, the two related technologies, which are related to each other but have essentially different concepts in terms of scale and transport mechanism, have been integrated to develop "Deep Pen" nanolithography (DPN). DPN can be used as a scanning probe microscope (SPM) tip (e.g. atomic force microscope (AFM) tip) as a "nib" or "pen", and a solid substrate (e.g. as a paper) as a "paper" Molecules with chemical affinity for the substrate in the state are used as “ink”. Capillary transport of molecules from the tip to the solid substrate is used in the DPN to directly record patterns of relatively small sets of molecules in sizes smaller than micrometers.

DPN is not the only lithographic method of transporting molecules directly to the target substrate by embossed printing. For example, microcontact printing using elastomer stamps can directly deposit patterns of thiol functionalized molecules on gold substrates (Xia et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 37: 550 (1998); Kim et al., Nature, 376: 581 (1995); Xia et al., Science, 273: 347 (1996); Yan et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 120: 6179 (1998); Kumar et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 114: 9188 (1992). This method is comparable to DPN, which can deposit a complete pattern or series of patterns onto a target substrate in one step. This is an advantage that can be presented in the light of sequential techniques, such as DPN, unless it is desired to selectively place different kinds of molecules at specific sites within certain forms of nanostructures. In this regard, DPNs complement micro contact printing and many other existing micro and nano manufacturing methods.

In addition, relying on scanning probe tools, electron beams or molecular beams to pattern substrates (ie to remove material for subsequent processing or adsorption steps) using self-associative monolayers and other organic materials as resist layers. Various intaglio printing techniques exist (Bottomley, Anal. Chem., 70: 425R (1998); Nyffenegger et al., Chem. Re., 97: 1195 (1997); Berggren et al., Science, 269: 1255 ( 1995); Sondag-Huethorst et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 64: 285 (1994); Schoer et al., Langmuir, 13: 2323 (1997); Xu et al., Langmuir, 13: 127 (1997 Perkins et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 68: 550 (1996); Carr et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, 15: 1446 (1997); Lercel et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 68: 1504 (1996); Sugimura et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, 14: 1223 (1996); Komeda et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, 16 : 1680 (1998); Muller et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, 13: 2846 (1995); Kim et al., Science, 257: 375 (1992). However, DPNs can deliver relatively small amounts of molecular substrates to the substrate in a nanolithographic manner that does not rely on resists, stamps, complex processing methods, or ultrasonically processed non-commercial tools.

Since that invention, the problem with AFM has been that between the AFM tip and the sample when condensing water from room temperature and performing experiments in air, which has a major impact on imaging experiments, especially when trying to achieve nanometer or even angstrom resolution. Narrow gap capillaries formed in (Xu et al., J. Phys. Chem. B, 102: 540 (1998); Binggeli et al., Appl. Phys. Lett, 65: 415 (1994); Fujihira et al. Chem. Lett., 499 (1996); Piner et al., Langmuir, 13: 6864 (1997)). This is a dynamic problem and has shown that water is transported from the substrate to the tip or vice versa, depending on the relative humidity and substrate wettability. In the latter case, a metastable nanometer length scale pattern can be formed from a very thin layer of water that is backloaded from the AFM tip (Piner et al., Langmuir, 13: 6864 (1997)). The present invention has revealed that when hydrogenated molecules anchor themselves to a substrate, a stable surface structure is formed, forming a new kind of nanolithography, DPN.

In addition, the present invention overcomes the problems caused by water condensation occurring during AFM performance. In particular, it has been found that the resolution of the AFM is significantly improved when the AFM tip is coated with certain hydrophobic compounds before performing the AFM.

Summary of the Invention

As mentioned above, the present invention provides a lithographic process called "dip pen" nanolithography, ie DPN. DPN is a direct-write, nanolithography technique in which molecules are delivered to a target substrate in an embossed printing manner. DPN uses a scanning probe microscope (SPM) tip (eg, an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip) as a "pen" and a solid substrate as "paper". This tip is coated with a patterning compound (“ink”), and the coated tip contacts the substrate to apply the patterning compound to the substrate to produce the desired pattern. Molecules of the patterning compound are transferred from the tip to the substrate by capillary transport. DPNs are useful for the manufacture of a variety of micro and nano scale devices. The present invention also provides a substrate patterned by DPN and a kit for performing DPN.

The present invention also provides a method of performing AFM imaging in air. Coating the Bunburn AFM tip with a hydrophobic compound. AFM imaging is then performed in air using the coated tip. Hydrophobic compounds are selected such that AFM imaging performed using coated AFM tips is improved over AFM imaging performed using uncoated AFM tips. Finally, the present invention provides an AFM tip coated with a hydrophobic compound.

The present invention relates to microfabrication and nanofabrication methods. The invention also relates to a method for performing atomic force microscopy imaging.

1 is a schematic diagram of a "deep pen" nanolithography (DPN). The water meniscus is formed between an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip coated with 1-octadecanethiol (ODT) and a gold (Au) substrate. The size of the meniscus controlled by relative humidity affects the ODT transport rate, effective tip substrate contact area, and DPN resolution.

2A is a lateral force image of a square micrometer ODT deposited on an Au substrate by DPN. This pattern was generated by scanning a squared micrometer region at a scan rate of 1 Hz for 10 minutes at 39% relative humidity. The scan size was then increased to 3 micrometers and the scan rate was increased to 4 Hz while recording the image.

2B is a lattice resolved lateral force image of an ODT self-associating monolayer (SAM) deposited on Au (111) / mica substrate by DPN. This image was filtered using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and the FFT of the data is shown at the bottom right. The monolayer was created by scanning five times Au (111) / mica substrates of 1000 square microns area at a rate of 9 Hz under 39% relative humidity.

2C is a lateral force image of a 30 nm line (3 μm in length) deposited on Au / mica substrate by DPN. Lines were generated by vertically scanning the tip repeatedly for 5 minutes at a scan rate of 1 Hz.

2D is a lateral force image of a 100 nm line deposited on an Au substrate by DPN. The method of depositing this line is similar to that used for the image generation of FIG. 2C, but the generation time was 1.5 minutes. Dark areas in all images (FIGS. 2A-2D) correspond to areas of relatively low friction.

3A is a lateral force image of an Au substrate after an ODT coated AFM tip was in contact with the substrate for 2, 4 and 16 minutes (from left to right). Relative humidity was kept constant at 45% and images were recorded at a scan rate of 4 Hz.

3B is a lateral force image of a 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHDA) point on an Au substrate. To generate the dots, MHDA coated AFM tips were held on Au substrates for 10, 20 and 40 seconds (from left to right). Relative humidity was 35%. The transport properties of MHDA and ODT are quite different.

3C is a lateral force image of a point array generated by a DPN. Each dot was created by contacting the ODT coated tip with the surface for less than 20 seconds. Write and write conditions were the same as in FIG. 3A.

3D is a lateral force image of a molecular substrate grid. Each line 100 nm in width and 2 μm in length required 1.5 minutes to draw.

4A-B show oscilloscope recording results of the lateral force detector output before coating the AFM tip with 1-dodecylamine (FIG. 4A) and after coating the tip with 1-dodecylamine (FIG. 4B). The recording time corresponds to four scan lines. Since the signal was recorded in both the left and right scans, the height of the square wave is directly proportional to the friction. Zero on the Y axis shifted the position for clarity.

5A-B are lateral force images (FIG. 5A) showing water transported to glass substrates by unstrained AFM tips and the results of the same experiment performed with 1-dodecylamine coated tips (FIG. 5B). Height bars are in arbitrary units.

6A is a lattice resolved lateral force image of a mica surface using a 1-dodecylamine coated tip. 2D Fourier transitions are indicated by insertion at the bottom right.

6B is a lattice resolved lateral force image of a self associative monolayer (SAM) of 11-mercapto-1-undecanol. This image is filtered Fourier transform (FFT) and the FFT of the data is shown at the bottom right. Scale bars are arbitrary units.

6C is a topography of water condensation on mica at 30% relative humidity. The height bar is 5Å.

6D is a lateral force image of water condensation on mica at 30% relative humidity (same spot as in FIG. 6C).

7A-B are topographic images of latex spheres showing no change before or after transformation to 1-dodecylamine. The height bar is 0.1 μm. FIG. 7A was recorded using untreated tip and FIG. 7B was recorded using the same tip coated with 1-dodecylamine.

8A-B are images of Si ₃ N ₄ surfaces coated with 1-dodecylamine molecules, showing uniform coating. 8A shows a topography of a Si ₃ N ₄ wafer surface coated with 1-dodecylamine molecules, with similar characteristics as before coating. The height bar is 700Å. FIG. 8B shows the same area recorded in the lateral force mode, showing that there are no unusual friction lesions.

9A-C are schematic diagrams of lateral force microscopy (LFM) images of nanoscale molecular dots showing “essential elements” for nanometer scale multi-patterning by DPN. Scale bar is 100 nm. FIG. 9A shows a first pattern of MHA dots on Au (111) imaged by LFM using MHA coated tips used for the generation of 1,16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHA) dots having a diameter of 15 nm. Shows. FIG. 9B shows a second pattern formed by DPN using the coordinates for the second pattern calculated based on the LFM image of the first pattern shown in FIG. 9A. 9C shows a final pattern that includes both first and second patterns. The time that elapsed between the two pattern formations was 10 minutes.

Scale bars in Figures 10A-C are 100 nm. 10A shows a first pattern comprising a 50 nm wide line and alignment mark generated using MHA molecules by DPN. 10B shows a second pattern generated using ODT molecules. The coordination of the second pattern was adjusted based on the LFM image of the MHA array pattern. The first line pattern was not imaged to suppress the possibility of contamination by the second molecule. FIG. 10C shows the final result including lines 50 nm in width, interdigitated, 70 nm apart.

11A shows letters drawn by DPN using MHA molecules on an amorphous gold surface. The scale bar is 100 nm and the line width is 15 nm.

11B shows the polygon drawn by DPN using MHA molecules on an amorphous gold surface. ODT molecules were overlaid around polygons. The scale bar is 1 μm and the line width is 100 nm.

DPN uses a scanning probe microscope (SPM) tip. As used herein, the phrases "scanning probe microscope tip" and "SPM tip" include atomic force microscope (AFM) tips, near-band scanning optical microscope (NSOM) tips, scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tips, and devices with similar properties. Means the tip used for atomic scale imaging. Many SPM tips are commercially available and similar devices can be developed using commercially available instructions.

The SPM tip is most preferably the AFM tip. Any AFM tip can be used. Suitable AFM tips include, for example, those sold by Park Scientific, Digital Instrument, and Molecular Imaging.

NSOM tips are also preferred. This tip is hollow in the middle, and the patterning compound accumulates in the hollow of the NSOM tip, which acts as a reservoir of the patterning compound to produce a "fountain pen" form used for DPN. Suitable NSOM tips are available from Nanonics Ltd. And those available from Topometrix.

The tip is preferably only physically bound by the patterning compound. As used herein, the phrase "physically bind" means that the patterning compound is attached to the tip surface by other means (not by chemical adsorption or covalent bonding) rather than as a result of a chemical reaction, and removed from the tip surface using a suitable solvent. It can be. Physical bonding to the tip of the patterning compound can be enhanced by coating the tip with an adhesive layer and selecting a suitable solvent (if used) for the patterning compound. The adhesion layer is a uniform thin layer (<10 nm) of material deposited on the tip surface that does not significantly alter the shape of the tip. In addition, it must be strong enough to withstand AFM operation (force of about 10 nN). Titanium and chromium form a very thin uniform layer on the tip without significantly deforming the shape of the tip. The tip may be coated with an adhesion layer by vacuum deposition (see Holland, Vacuum Deposition Of Thin Films (Wiley, New York, NY, 1956)) or by other metal thin film formation methods. Suitable solvents will depend on the patterning compound used, the type of tip used and the material used to form the adhesion layer, whether or not the tip is coated with an adhesion layer. For example, acetonitrile adheres well to uncoated silicon nitride tips, eliminating the need to use an adhesion layer when acetonitrile is used as a solvent for the patterning compound. In contrast, water does not adhere to the uncoated silicon nitride tip. Water adheres well to titanium coated silicon nitride tips, which can be used when water is used as a solvent. In addition, the physical bonding of the aqueous solution of the patterning compound can be enhanced by increasing the hydrophilicity of the tip (coated or uncoated with an adhesive layer). For example, hydrophilicity can be increased by cleaning the tip (eg using a piranha solution, by plasma cleaning or using UV ozone cleaning) or by oxygen plasma etching (eg Lo et al. Langmuir, 15, 6522-6526 (1999); see James et al., Langmuir, 14, 741-744 (1998). Alternatively, a mixture of water and other solvents (e.g., water: acetonitrile in a 1: 3 ratio) can be attached to the uncoated silicon nitride tip, eliminating the need for use of an adhesion layer or treatment for increased hydrophilicity. . Suitable solvents for a particular environment can be determined empirically using the guidelines set forth herein.

The substrate can be of any shape and size. In particular, the substrate may be flat or curved. The substrate can be made of any material that can be modified by the patterning compound to form a stable surface structure (see below). Substrates useful in the practice of the present invention include metals (eg gold, silver, aluminum, copper, platinum and palladium), metal oxides (eg Al, Ti, Fe, Ag, Zn, Zr, In, Sn and Cu). Oxides), semiconductor materials (e.g. CdS coated with Si, CdSe, CdS, and ZnS), magnetic materials (e.g. ferromagnetic), polymer or polymer coated substrates, superconductor materials (YBa ₂ Cu ₃ 0 _7-δ ), Si, SiO ₂ , glass, AgI, AgBr, HgI ₂ , PbS, PbSe, ZnSe, ZnS, ZnTe, CdTe, InP, In ₂ 0 ₃ / SnO ₂ , In ₂ S ₃ , In ₂ Se ₃ , In ₂ Te ₃ , Cd ₃ P ₂ , Cd ₃ As ₂ , InAs, AlAs, GaP and GaAs. Methods of making such substrates are known in the art and include evaporation and sputtering (metal films), crystalline semiconductor growth (eg, Si, Ge, GaAs), chemical vapor deposition (semiconductor thin films), lamination growth (crystalline semiconductor thin films). ), And heat shrink (orientation polymer) (e.g. Alcock et al., Canadian Metallurgical Quarterly, 23,309 (1984); Holland, Vacuum Deposition of Thin Films (Wiley, New York 1956); Grove, Philos. Trans.Faraday Soc., 87 (1852); Teal, IEEE Trans. Electron Dev.ED-23,621 (1976); Sell, Key Eng Materials, 58,169 (1991); Keller et al., Float-Zone Silicon (Marcel Dekker, New York, 1981); Sherman, Chemical Vapor Deposition For Microelectronics: Principles, Technology And Applications (Noyes, Park Ridges, NJ, 1987); Epitaxial Silicon Technology (Baliga, ed., Academic Press, Orlando, Florida, 1986); US Patent No. 5,138,174; see Hidber et al., Langmuir, 12, 5209-5215 (1996)). Suitable substrates also include, for example, Digital Instruments (Gold), Molecular Imaging (Gold), Park Scientific (Gold), Electronic Materials, Inc. (Semiconductor Wafer), Silicon Quest, Inc. (Semiconductor Wafer), MEMS Technology Applications Center, Inc. (Semiconductor Wafer), Crystal Specialties, Inc. (Semiconductor wafer), Siltronix, Switzerland (silicon wafer), Aleene's, Buellton, CA (biaxially oriented polystyrene sheet), and Kama Corp., Hazelton, PA (polystyrene oriented thin film).

The SPM tip is used to deliver the patterning compound to the target substrate. Any patterning compound can be used so long as the substrate can be modified to form a stable surface structure. Stable surface structures are formed by chemical adsorption of the patterning compound molecules to the substrate or covalent bonding of the patterning compound to the substrate.

Many stable compounds that can be used as patterning compounds and substrate (s) corresponding to these compounds are known in the art. E.g,

a. Of formula R ₁ SH, R ₁ SSR ₂ , R ₁ SR ₂ , R ₁ SO ₂ H, (R ₁ ) ₃ P, R ₁ NC, R ₁ CN, (R ₁ ) ₃ N, R ₁ COOH, or ArSH Compounds can be used to pattern gold substrates,

b. Compounds of the formula R ₁ SH, (R ₁ ) ₃ N, or ArSH can be used for patterning silver, copper, palladium and semiconductor substrates,

c. Compounds of the formula R ₁ NC, R ₁ SH, R ₁ SSR ₂ , or R ₁ SR can be used for patterning platinum substrates,

d. Compounds of the formula R ₁ SH can be used for patterning aluminum, TiO ₂ , SiO ₂ , GaAs and InP substrates,

e. Organosilanes comprising a compound of the formula R ₁ SiCl ₃ , R ₁ Si (OR ₂ ) ₃ , (R ₁ COO) ₂ , R ₁ CH═CH ₂ , RLi or R ₁ MgX include Si, SiO ₂ and glass substrates. Can be used for patterning,

f. Formula R ₁ COOH or RCONHR ₂ can be used for the patterning of metal oxide substrates,

g. Compounds of the formula R ₁ SH, R ₁ NH ₂ , ArNH ₂ , pyrrole or pyrrole derivatives, wherein R ₁ is attached to one of the carbons of the pyrrole ring, can be used for patterning high temperature superconductors,

h. Compounds of formula R ₁ PO ₃ H ₂ can be used for patterning ZrO ₂ and In ₂ O ₃ / SnO ₂ substrates,

i. Compounds of formula R ₁ COOH can be used in the patterning of aluminum, copper, silicon and platinum substrates,

j. Unsaturated compounds such as azoalkanes (R ₂ NNR ₃ ) and isothiocyanates (R ₃ NCS) can be used for patterning silicon substrates,

k. Proteins and peptides can be used for the patterning of gold, silver, glass, silicon and polystyrene.

In the above formula,

R ₁ and R ₂ have the general formula _n X (CH _2), respectively, if the compound is substituted with both R ₁ and R _2, R ₁ and R ₂ may be the same or different;

n is 0 to 30;

Ar is aryl;

X is -CH ₃ , -CHCH ₃ , -COOH, -CO ₂ (CH ₂ ) _m CH ₃ , -OH, -CH ₂ OH, ethylene glycol, hexa (ethylene glycol), -O (CH ₂ ) _m CH ₃ , -NH ₂ , -NH (CH ₂ ) _m NH ₂ , halogen, glucose, maltose, fullerene C60, nucleic acid (oligonucleotide, DNA, RNA, etc.), protein (eg antibody or enzyme) or ligand (Eg, antigens, enzyme substrates or receptors);

m is 0-30.

A description of the patterning compound and its preparation and use is described in Xia and Whitesides, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 37,550-575 (1998) and references cited therein; Bishop et al., Curr. Opinion Colloid Interface Sci., 1,127-136 (1996); Calvert, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, 11, 2155-2163 (1993); Ulman, Chem. Rev., 96: 1533 (1996) (alkanthiols for gold); Dubois et al., Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem., 43: 437 (1992) (alkanthiols for gold); Ulman, An Introduction to Ultrathin Organic Films: From Langmuir-Blodgett to Self-Assembly (Academic, Boston, 1991) (alcanthiol for gold); Whitesides, Proceedings of the Robert A. Welch Foundation 39th Conference On Chemical Research Nanophase Chemistry, Houston, TX, pages 109-121 (1995) (alkanthiols attached to gold); Mucic et al. Chem. Commun. 555-557 (1996) (describe the method of attachment of 3 'thiol DNA to the gold surface); US Patent No. 5,472,881 (binding of oligonucleotide-phosphothiolate to the gold surface); Burwell, Chemical Technology, 4,370-377 (1974) and Matteucci and Caruthers, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 103,3185-3191 (1981) (binding of oligonucleotide alkylsiloxanes to silica and glass surfaces); Grabar et al., Anal. Chem., 67, 735-743 (bonds of aminoalkylsiloxanes and similar bonds of mercaptoalkylsiloxanes); Nuzzo et al., J. A7m. Chem. Soc., 109, 2358 (1987) (disulfides on gold); Allara and Nuzzo, Languir, 1,45 (1985) (carboxylic acids for aluminum); Allara and Tompkins, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 49,410-421 (1974) (carboxylic acids for copper); Iler, The Chemistry Of Silica, Chapter 6, (Wiley 1979) (carboxylic acids for silica); Timmons and Zisman, J Ph Chem., 69,984-990 (1965) (carboxylic acids for platinum); Soriaga and Hubbard, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 104,3937 (1982) (aromatic ring compounds for platinum); Hubbard, Acc. Chem. Res., 13,177 (1980) (sulfolanes, sulfoxides and other functionalized solvents for platinum); Hickman et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 111,7271 (1989) (isonitrile to platinum); Maoz and Sagiv, Languir, 3, 1045 (1987) (silanes for silica); Maoz and Sagiv, Languir, 3,1034 (1987) (silanes for silica); Wasserman et al., Languir, 5,1074 (1989) (silane to silica); Eltekova and Eltekov, Languir, 3,951 (1987) (aromatic carboxylic acids, aldehydes, alcohols and methoxy groups for titanium dioxide and silica); And Lec et al., J. Phys. Chem., 92,2597 (1988) (light phosphates for metals); Lo et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 118,11295-11296 (1996) (attach of pyrrole to superconductor); Chen et al., J Am. Chem. Soc., 117,6374-5 (1995) (adhesion of amines and thiols to superconductors); Chen et al., Languir, 12,2622-2624 (1996) (adhesion of thiols to superconductors); McDevitt et al., U. S. Patent No. 5,846,909 (Adhesion of amines and thiols to superconductors); Xu et al., Langmuir, 14,6505-6511 (1998) (adhesion of amines to superconductors); Mirkin et al., Adv. Mater. (Weinheim, Ger.), 9,167-173 (1997) (adhesion of amines to superconductors); Hovis et al., J. Phys. Chem. B, 102, 6873-6879 (1998) (adhesion of olefins and dienes to silicon); Hovis et al., Surf. Sci., 402-404,1-7 (1998) (adhesion of olefins and dienes to silicon); Hovis et al., J Phys. Chem. B, 101,9581-9585 (1997) (adhesion of olefins and dienes to silicon); Hamers et al., J Phys. Chem. B, 101, 1489-1492 (1997) (adhesion of olefins and dienes to silicon); Hamers et al., US Pat. No. 5,908,692 (adhesion of olefins and dienes to silicon); Ellison et al., J. Phys. Chem. B, 103,6243-6251 (1999) (adhesion of isothiocyanates to silicon); Ellison et al., J Phys. Chem. B, 102,8510-8518 (1998) (adhesion of azoalkanes to silicon); Ohno et al., Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. Sci. Technol., Sect. A, 295, 487-490 (1997) (adhesion of thiols to GaAs); Reuter et al., Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. I'roc., 380,119-24 (1995) (adhesion of thiols to GaAs); Bain, Adv. Mater. (Weinheim, Fed. Repub. Ger.), 4,591-4 (1992) (attachment of thiols to GaAs); Sheen et al., J Am. Chem. Soc., 114, 1514-15 (1992) (adhesion of thio to GaAs); Nakagawa et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Part 1,30,3759-62 (1991) (adhesion of thiols to GaAs); Lunt et al., J. Appl. Phys., 70,7449-67 (1991) (adhesion of thiols to GaAs); Lunt et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol., B, 9,2333-6 (1991) (adhesion of thiols to GaAs); Yamamoto et al., Languir ACS ASAP, web release number Ia990467r (adhesion of thiols to InP); Gu et al., J Phys. Chem. B, 102,9015-9028 (1998) (adhesion of thiols to InP); Menzel et al., Adv. Mater. (Weinheim, Ger.), 11,131-134 (1999) (Adhesion of Disulfide to Gold), Yonezawa et al., Chem. Mater., 11, 33-35 (1999) (attachment of disulfide to gold); Porter et al., Langmuir, 14, 7378-7386 (1998) (disulfide attachment to gold); Son et al., J. Phys. Chem., 98, 8488-93 (1994) (attach nitrile to gold and copper), Steiner et al., Langmuir, 8, 2771-7 (1992) (attach nitrile to gold and copper), Solomun et al., J. Phys. Chem., 95, 10041-9 (1991) (attach nitrile to gold), Solomun et al., Ber. Bunsen-Ges. Phys. Chem., 95, 95-8 (1991) (attach nitrile to gold), Henderson et al., Inorg. Chim. Acta, 242, 115-24 (1996) (adherence of isonitrile to gold), Huc et al. J. Phys. Chem. B, 103, 10489-10495 (1999) (adhesion of isonitrile to platinum), Steiner et al., Langmuir, 8, 90-4 (1992) (adhesion of amines and phosphines to gold and amines to copper Attachment of); Mayya et al., J. Phys. Chem. B, 101, 9790-9793 (1997) (adhesion of amines to gold and silver); Chen et al., Languir, 15,1075-1082 (1999) (adhesion of carboxylate to gold); Tao, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 115, 4350-4358 (1993) (adhesion of carboxylates to copper and silver); Laibinis et al., J Am. Chem. Soc., 114, 1990-5 (1992) (adhesion of thiols to silver and copper); Laibinis et al., Languir, 7,3167-73 (1991) (adhesion of thiols to silver); Fenter et al., Languir, 7,2013-16 (1991) (adhesion of thiols to silver); Chang et al., Am. Chem. Soc., 116,6792-805 (1994) (adhesion of thiols to silver); Li et al., J. Phys. Chem., 98, 11751-5 (1994) (adhesion of thiols to silver); Li et al., Report, 24 pp (1994) (adhesion of thiols to silver); Tarlov et al., US Pat. No. 5,942,397 (adhesion of thiols to silver and copper); Waldeck, et al., PCT Application WO / 99/48682 (adhesion of thiols to silver and copper); Gui et al., Languir, 7,955-63 (1991) (adhesion of thiols to silver); Walczak et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 113,2370-8 (1991) (adhesion of thiols to silver); Sangiorgi et al., Gazz. Chim. Ital., 111,99-102 (1981) (adhesion of amines to copper); Magallon et al., Book of Abstracts, 215th ACS National Meeting, Dallas, Manch 29 April 2,1998, COLL-048 (Adhesion of Amine to Copper); Patil et al., Langmvir, 14, 2707-2711 (1998) (adhesion of amines to silver); Sastry et al., J. Phys. Chem. B, 101, 4954-4958 (1997) (adhesion of amines to silver); Bansal et al., J. Phys. Chem. B, 102, 4058-4060 (1998) (adhesion of alkyllithium to silicon); Bansal et al., J. Phys. Chem. B, 102, 1067-1070 (1998) (adhesion of alkyl lithium to silicon); Chidsey, Book of Abstracts, 214th ACS National Meeting, Las Vegas, NV) September 7-ll, 1997, I & EC-027 (Adhesion of Alkyl Lithium to Silicon); Song, J. H., Thesis, University of California at San Diego (1998) (adhesion of alkyllithium to silicon dioxide); Meyer et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 110,4914-18 (1988) (adhesion of amines to semiconductors); Brazdil et al. J Phys. Chem., 85, 1005-14 (1981) (army attachment to semiconductors); James et al., Languir, 14, 741-744 (1998) (adhesion of proteins and peptides to glass); Bernard et al., Languir, 14, 2225-2229 (1998) (adhesion of proteins to glass, polystyrene, gold, silver and silicon wafers).

In addition to those listed above, other compounds known in the art or developed or discovered using the guidelines set forth herein or elsewhere in the literature can also be used as patterning compounds. Alkanthiol and arylthiols for various substrates and trichlorosilanes for SiO ₂ substrates are preferred (see Examples 1 and 2).

To effect DPN, the SPM tip is coated with a patterning compound. This can be accomplished in many ways. For example, the tip may be coated by vapor deposition, direct contact scanning, or by contacting the tip with a patterning compound solution.

The simplest way to coat the tip is direct contact scanning. Coating by direct contact coating is performed by depositing a droplet of a saturated solution of the patterning compound onto a solid substrate (eg glass or silicon nitride commercially available from Fisher Scientific or MEMS Technology Application Center). Upon drying, the patterning compound forms a microcrystalline phase on the substrate. To coat the patterning compound onto the SPM tip, the tip is repeatedly scanned across the micro crystalline phase. This method is simple but does not add optimally to the tip because it is difficult to control the amount of patterning compound transferred from the substrate to the tip.

In addition, the tip may be coated by vapor deposition (see Sherman, Chemical Vapor Deposition For Microelectronics: Principles, Technology And Applications (Noyes, Park Ridges, NJ, 1987).) The patterning compound (pure form, solid or liquid, solventless) Place the tip on a solid substrate (eg glass or silicon nitride; commercially available from Fisher Scientific or MEMS Technology Application Center) and place the tip close to the patterning compound (within about 1-20 cm depending on the chamber design). The tip is coated with a compound by heating to an evaporation temperature, for example 1-octadecanethiol can be vapor deposited at 60 ° C. Coating by vapor deposition is carried out in a closed chamber to prevent contamination of other areas. If the patterning compound is to be oxidized by air, the chamber should be a vacuum chamber or a nitrogen filled chamber. This creates a uniform thin layer of patterning compound on the tip and gives the DPN a very reliable result.

However, the SPM tip is preferably coated by dipping in a patterning compound solution. The solvent is not critical and what is required is that the compound be in solution. However, it is preferred that the solvent is most soluble in the patterning compound. In addition, the solution is preferably a saturated solution. In addition, it is preferred that the solvent best adheres to the tip (coated or uncoated with an adhesion layer) (most tip wetted) (see above). The tip is kept in contact with the patterning compound solution for a time sufficient to coat the tip with the compound.

This time can be determined empirically. Generally, about 30 seconds to about 3 minutes is sufficient. Preferably, the tip is immersed in the solution multiple times, and the tip is dried between each immersion. The number of tips of dipping the tip in the selection solution can be determined empirically. Preferably, the tip is an inert gas (i.e. pure) containing no particles (e.g. carbon tetrafluoride, 1,2-dichloro-l, 1,2,2-tetrafluoroethane, dichlorodifluoro Methane, octafluorocyclobutane, trichlorofluoromethane, difluoroethane, nitrogen, argon, or dehydrated air) is dried by blowing to the tip. Generally, the tip can be sufficiently dried by blowing the gas at room temperature for about 10 seconds. After immersion (final immersion of one immersion or multiple immersions), the tip may use a wet tip for patterning the substrate or may be dried prior to use (preferably as described above). The dry tip can be used to transport the patterning compound at low but stable rates over long periods of time (weeks), while the wet tip can be used to transport the patterning compound at high speeds for short periods of time (about 2-3 hours). Can be. Dried tips are preferred for compounds having good transport rates under anhydrous conditions (e.g., compounds listed above where X is -CH ₃ ), while wet tips are compounds having low transport rates under anhydrous conditions (e.g. COOH).

To perform the DPN, the coated tip is in contact with the substrate. Both the patterning compound and the transport medium are required for DPN because the patterning compound is transported to the substrate by capillary transport (see FIG. 1). The transport medium forms a meniscus that bridges the gap between the tip and the substrate (see FIG. 1). Thus, the tip “contacts” the substrate when close enough to form the meniscus. Suitable transport media include water, hydrocarbons (eg hexanes), and solvents in which the patterning compound is soluble (eg, the solvent used to coat the tip, see above). Faster pattern formation using the tip can be achieved by using a transport medium in which the patterning compound is most soluble.

A single tip can be used to form a pattern using an AFM or similar device. As is known in the art, only a few STM and NSOM tips can be used for AFM, and STM and NSOM tips that can be used for AFM are commercially available. Applying two or more different patterning compounds to the same substrate to form a pattern (different or different) of different compounds by removing the first tip coated with the first patterning compound and replacing it with another tip coated with the different patterning compound can do. Alternatively, multiple tips may be used in a single device to form multiple patterns (same or different patterns) on the substrate using the same or different patterning compounds (eg, for patterning multiple cantilevers and substrates). See US Pat. No. 5,666,190 describing a device comprising a tip).

When two or more patterns and / or two or more patterning compounds (in the same or different patterns) are applied to a single substrate, the pattern and (or) for each other and / or for the selected alignment marks using the position (registration) system Or) arrange the patterning compound. For example, two or more array marks that can be imaged by a general AFM imaging method are applied to a substrate by DPN or other lithography technique (eg photolithography or electron beam lithography). The arrangement mark may be in simple form, for example cross or rectangle. Better resolution is achieved by creating an array mark using a DPN. When DPN is used, the alignment mark is preferably made of a patterning compound that forms strong covalent bonds with the substrate. The best compound for forming alignment marks on gold substrates is 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid. The alignment marks are preferably imaged by conventional AFM methods (eg, lateral force AFM imaging, AFM topography imaging, and contactless AFM imaging) using SPM tips coated with a patterning compound for preparing the desired pattern. For this reason, the patterning compound used to prepare the alignment marks must not react with other patterning compounds used to prepare the desired pattern and must not be destroyed by subsequent DPN patterning. Using imaging data, the appropriate parameters (position and orientation) can be calculated using a simple computer program (eg Microsoft Excel spreadsheet), and the calculated parameters can be used to deposit the desired pattern (s) onto the substrate. have.

In practice, since the system is based on the position and orientation with respect to the alignment mark, the alignment mark can be used to locate a myriad of patterns and / or patterning compounds. To achieve the best results, the SPM tip placement system used should be stable and free from drift problems. An AFM batch system that meets the above criteria is a 100 micron piezoelectric scanner from Park Scientific. This system provides a stable deployment with nanometer scale resolution.

DPNs can also be used in nanoplotter format by having a series of micron size wells (or other containers) containing a cleaning liquid adjacent to the substrate and a number of different patterning compounds. The tip may be coated by immersing the tip in a well containing the patterning compound, which is used to apply the pattern to the substrate. The tip is then cleaned by immersing it in a cleaning well or series of cleaning wells. The cleaned tip is immersed in another well and coated with a second patterning compound and then used to apply the pattern to the substrate with the second patterning compound. The patterns are arranged as described in the previous paragraph. The process of coating the tip with the patterning compound, applying the pattern to the substrate with the patterning compound, and cleaning the tip can be repeated as many times as desired, and the entire process can be automated using appropriate software.

DPN can also be used to apply the second patterning compound to the first patterning compound already applied to the substrate, either by DPN or by other means. The second patterning compound is selected to chemically react with or otherwise stably bind to the first patterning compound (eg by hybridization of two complementary strands of nucleic acid). See, eg, Dubois and Nuzzo, Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. 43, 437-63 (1992); Yan et al., Langmuir , 15, 1208-1214 (1999); Lahiri et al., Langmuir , 15, 2055-2060 (1999); And Huck et al., Langmuir , 15, 6862-6867 (1999). As with the DPN performed directly on the substrate, both the second patterning compound and the transport medium are required because the second patterning compound is transported to the first patterning compound by capillary transport (see above). Patterning compounds such as third, fourth, etc. may also be applied to the first patterning compound or other patterning compound already on the substrate. In addition, additional patterning compounds may be applied to form multilayer patterning compounds. These additional patterning compounds may each be the same or different from the other patterning compounds, and the multilayer may each be the same or different from the other layers and may consist of one or more other patterning compounds.

In addition, DPN can be used in combination with other lithography techniques. For example, DPN can be used in conjunction with microcontact printing and other lithography techniques discussed in the Background section above.

Several parameters affect the resolution of the DPN and the final resolution is not yet clear. First, the grain size of the substrate affects the DPN resolution, just as paper grains control the resolution of conventional writing. As shown in Example 1 below, DPN is used to draw a 30 nm wide line on a particular gold substrate. This size is the average grain diameter of the gold substrate and represents the resolution limit of the DPN on this type of substrate. Using a smoother (smaller grain size) substrate, such as silicon, will yield better resolution. Indeed, using another smoother gold substrate, the resolution increased to 15 nm (see Example 4).

Second, chemisorption, covalent attachment, and self-association all serve to limit the diffusion of molecules after deposition. In contrast, compounds such as water that are not immobilized on a substrate can only be used to form metastable patterns of poor resolution (see Piner et al., Langmuir , 13: 6864 (1997)).

Third, the tip-substrate contact time and thus the scan speed affect the DPN resolution. Faster scan speeds and fewer traces form thinner lines.

Fourth, the transport rate of the patterning compound from the tip to the substrate affects the resolution. For example, using water as the transport medium has been found to have relative humidity affect the resolution of the lithographic process. For example, a 30 nm wide line (FIG. 2C) takes 5 minutes to produce in a 34% relative humidity environment, while a 100 nm wide line (FIG. 2D) takes up to produce in a 42% relative humidity environment. It takes 1.5 minutes. The size of the water meniscus that crosslinks the tip and substrate depends on the relative humidity (Piner et al., Langmuir, 13: 6864 (1997)), and the size of the water meniscus affects the transport rate of the patterning compound to the substrate. Inflicted In addition, when using a wet tip, the water meniscus contains a residual solvent which is a transport medium, and the transport rate is also influenced by the properties of the solvent.

Fifth, the sharpness of the tip affects the resolution of the DPN. Thus, the use of sharper tips (eg, by frequently changing the tips, cleaning the tips before coating, and attaching sharp structures (such as carbon nanotubes) to the ends of the tips, yields better resolution It is expected to lose.

In summary, DPN is a simple but powerful method for transporting molecules from an SPM tip to a substrate at a resolution comparable to that obtained by much more expensive and complex competitive lithography methods such as electron beam lithography. DPNs are useful tools for forming and functionalizing microscale and nanoscale structures. For example, DPN can be used in the fabrication of microsensors, microreactors, combinatorial arrays, micromechanical systems, microanalysis systems, biological surfaces, biomaterials, microelectronics, microoptical systems and nanoelectronic devices. Can be used. DPN will be particularly useful for the detailed functionalization of nanoscale devices made by more conventional lithographic methods. See, eg, Reed et al., Science , 278: 252 (1997); Feldheim et al. , Chem. Soc. Rev. , 27: 1 (1998).

The present invention also provides a kit for performing DPN. The kit includes one or more substrates and one or more SPM tips. The substrate and tip are described above. The tip may or may not be coated with the patterning compound. If the tip is uncoated, the kit may further include one or more containers, each holding a patterning compound. The patterning compound is described above. Any suitable container, such as a vial, tube or jar, can be used. The kit is further useful for coating the tip with a patterning compound, a material (eg, a container of titanium or chromium) to form a thin solid adhesion layer to enhance physical adsorption of the patterning compound to the tip, as described above. Materials (such as solvents for patterning compounds or solid substrates for direct contact scanning) and / or materials for performing lithography in a different manner than DPN (see the Background section above and references cited therein). Finally, the kit can include other reagents and articles useful for performing DPN or any other lithographic method, such as reagents, beakers, vials, and the like.

As noted above, when the AFM is operated in air, water is agglomerated between the tip and the surface and then transported by the capillary effect as the tip is scanned across the surface. These filled capillaries and their associated capillary forces It impairs operation and substantially affects the imaging process.

Very surprisingly, AFM tips coated with certain hydrophobic compounds have been found to exhibit improved ability to image substrates in air by AFM compared to uncoated tips. This is because the hydrophobic molecules reduce the size of the water meniscus and effectively reduce the friction. In conclusion, the resolution of AFM in air increases with the use of a coated tip compared to the use of an uncoated tip. Thus, coating the tip with hydrophobic molecules can be used as a general pretreatment for AFM tips for performing AFM in air.

Hydrophobic compounds useful for coating an AFM tip for performing AFM in air should form a uniform thin coating on the tip surface, not covalently bond to the substrate or tip being imaged, and bind more tightly to the tip than the substrate. And must remain solid at the AFM operating temperature. Suitable hydrophobic compounds include the hydrophobic compounds described above for use as patterning compounds, provided that the hydrophobic patterning compounds coat the AFM tips used to image the corresponding substrates for the patterning compounds, or correspond to the patterning compounds. It is not used to coat AFM tips made or coated with materials useful as substrates. Preferred compounds for most substrates are those having the formula R ₄ NH _2, where R ₄ is alkyl or aryl of the formula CH ₃ (CH ₂ ) _n and n is 0 to 30, preferably 10 to 20 See discussion on patterning compounds). Particular preference is given to 1-dodecylamine for AFM operating temperatures below 74 ° F. (about 23.3 ° C.).

AFM in air using any AFM tip can be improved by coating the AFM tip with a hydrophobic compound with a hydrophobic compound as described in the previous paragraph. Suitable AFM tips include those described above for use in the DPN.

AFM tips can be coated with hydrophobic compounds in a variety of ways. Suitable methods include those described above for coating the AFM tip with a patterning compound for use in DPN. Preferably as described above to coat all the tips with the patterning compound, the AFM tip is simply immersed in the hydrophobic compound by immersing the tip in a solution of the compound for a time sufficient to coat the tip and then drying the coated tip with an inert gas. Coating.

After coating the tip, perform AFM in the same manner as if the tip was not coated. It was found that no change was necessary in the AFM procedure.

Example 1 "Deep Pen" Nanolithography Using Alkanthiols on Gold Substrates

Delivery of 1-octadecanethiol (ODT) to gold (Au) surfaces is a widely studied system. Bay et al. , Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. , 28: 506 (1989); A. Ulman, An Introduction to Ultrathin Organic Films; From Langmuir-Blodgett to Self-Assembly (Academic Press, Boston, 1991); Dubois et al . , Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. 43, 437 (1992); Bishop et al . , Curr. Opin. Coll. Interf. Sci. , 1: 127 (1996); Alves et al . , J. Am. Chem. Soc. , 114: 1222 (1992). Au having these suitable air stable molecules immobilized thereon can be easily distinguished from unmodified Au by (LFM; lateral force microscopy).

When the ADT tip coated with ODT is in contact with the sample surface, the ODT flows from the tip to the sample by capillary action like a dip pen (FIG. 1). This method was studied using conventional AFM tips on thin film substrates prepared by thermal evaporation of 300 kV of polycrystalline Au on mica at room temperature. Park Scientific model CP AFM apparatus was used to perform all experiments. The scanner was placed in a glass containment chamber and the relative humidity was measured with a hygrometer. All humidity measuring instruments have an absolute error of ± 5%. Silicon nitride tips (Park Scientific, Microlever A) were coated with ODT by immersing the cantilever in a saturated solution of ODT in acetonitrile for 1 minute. The cantilever was blow dried with compressed difluoroethane before use.

A simple experimental model of the DPN process involved raster scanning a tip made across a 1 μm × 1 μm section of an Au substrate in this manner. LFM images of this area within the larger scan area (3 μm × 3 μm) showed two areas of different contrast (FIG. 2A). The inner dark or bottom lateral force zone was the deposition fault of the ODT and the outer roster was Au exposed.

Formation of high quality self-associating monolayers (SAMs) occurred when the deposition process was performed on Au (111) / mica which was prepared by annealing the Au thin film substrate at 300 ° C. for 3 hours [Alves et al . , J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114: 1222 (1992). In this case, it was possible to obtain a lattice resolution image of the ODT SAM (FIG. 2B). The hexagonal lattice parameters of 5.0 ± 0.2 mm 3 are well compared with the reported values for the SAM of the ODT on Au (111), showing that the ODT was transported from the tip to the substrate rather than some other adsorbates (water or acetonitrile).

Experiments performed on Au (111) / Mica provide important information about the chemical identity of the species transported in these experiments, but Au (111) / Mica is a poor substrate for DPN. Deep valleys around the small Au (111) plane make it difficult to draw long (micrometer) continuous lines with nanometer widths.

An unannealed Au substrate is relatively rough (square root mean square roughness ≒ 2 nm), but can deposit a 30 nm line by DPN (FIG. 2C). This distance is the average Au grain diameter of the thin film substrate and represents the resolution limit of the DPN on this type of substrate. The 30 nm molecular substrate lines produced on this type of substrate are discontinuous and are followed by the grain edges of Au. Smoother, more continuous lines can be drawn by increasing the line width to 100 nm (FIG. 2D) or perhaps by using a smoother Au substrate. The line width depends on the tip scan rate and the transport rate of the alkanethiol from the tip to the substrate (relative humidity may change the transport rate). Faster scan speeds and fewer traces form thinner lines.

DPN was also used to prepare molecular point features to demonstrate the "ink" diffusibility (FIGS. 3A and 3B). The ODT coated tip was in contact with the Au substrate for the set time (set point = 1nN). For example, the tips were held in contact with the surface for 2, 4 and 16 minutes, respectively, to form ODT spots of 0.66 μm, 0.88 μm and 1.6 μm diameters (left to right, FIG. 3A). The uniformly shaped dots seem to reflect the uniform flow of ODT in all directions from the tip to the surface. Images of opposite contrast were obtained by depositing the points of the alkanethiol derivative, 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid in a similar manner (FIG. 3B). This not only provides additional evidence that molecules are transported from the tip to the surface but also demonstrates the molecular universality of the DPN.

In addition to individual lines and points, arrays and grids may be formed. An array of 25 0.46 μm diameter ODT points spaced at 0.54 μm (FIG. 3C) was created by keeping the ODT coated tip in contact with the surface (1 nM) for 20 seconds at 45% relative humidity without lateral movement to form a point. . A grid of eight intersecting lines, 2 μm long and 100 nm wide (FIG. 3D), sweeps the ODT coated tip over an Au surface for 1.5 minutes at a scan rate of 4 μm / sec with a force of 1 nN to form each line. By producing.

Example 2: "Deep Pen" Nanolithography

Many compounds and substrates have been used successfully in DPN. This is listed in Table 1 below along with possible uses for the combination of compound and substrate.

AFM tips (Park Scientific) were used. The tips were silicon tips, silicon nitride tips, and silicon nitride tips coated with a titanium 10 nm layer to enhance physical adsorption of the patterning compound. Silicon nitride tips were coated with titanium by vacuum deposition as described in Holland, Vacuum Doposition Of Thin Films (Wiley, New York, NY, 1956. Coating the silicon nitride tips with titanium blunted the tips and reduced the resolution of the DPN. However, tips coated with titanium are useful when water is used as solvent for the patterning compound, showing the best resolution (low to about 10 nm) in DPN performed using uncoated silicon nitride tips.

The metal film substrates listed in Table 1 were prepared by vacuum deposition as described in Holland, Vacuum Doposition Of Thin Films (Wiley, New York, NY, 1956. The semiconductor substrates were manufactured by Electronic Materials, Inc. Inc., Silicon Quest, Inc., MEMS Technology Applications Center, Inc. or Crystal Specialities, Inc.

The patterning compounds listed in Table 1 were obtained from Aldrich Chemical Co. Solvents listed in Table 1 were obtained from Fisher Scientific.

The AFM tip was coated with the patterning compound as described in Example 1 (soaked in a patterning compound solution and then dried with an inert gas), or by vapor deposition or by direct contact scanning. The method of Example 1 gave the best results. Repeating the tip dipping and drying several times also improved the results.

The tip was coated by vapor deposition as described in Sherman, Chemical Vapor Deposition For Microelectronics: Principles, Technology And Applications (Noyes, Park Ridges, NJ, 1987). Briefly, patterning compounds were placed in solid form (solid or liquid, solvent-free) on solid substrates (eg, glass or silicon nitride; available from Fisher Scientific or MEMS Technology Application Center) in a closed chamber. For the compound oxidized by air, a vacuum chamber or a nitrogen filling chamber was used. The AFM tip was placed about 1-20 cm from the patterning compound, depending on the amount of material and the chamber design. The compound is then heated to a temperature that evaporates, so the tip is coated with the compound. For example, 1-octadecanethiol can be deposited at 60 ° C. Coating of the tip by vapor deposition formed a thin, uniform layer of patterning compound on the tip and gave very reliable results for DPN.

The tip was coated by direct contact scanning by depositing saturated solution droplets of the patterning compound onto a solid substrate (eg, glass or silicon nitride; available from Fisher Scientific or MEMS Technology Application Center). Upon drying, the patterning compound formed into a microcrystalline phase on the substrate. To load the patterning compound onto the AFM tip, the tip was repeatedly scanned across the microcrystalline phase (˜5 μs scan rate). This method is simple but did not result in the best loading of the tip because it is difficult to control the amount of patterning compound transferred from the substrate to the tip.

DPN was performed as described in Example 1 using Park Scientific AFM, Model CP, Scanning Speed 5-10 Hz. Scanning time was 10 seconds to 5 minutes. The pattern produced included grids, dots, letters and rectangles. The width of the grid lines and the lines forming the letters ranged from 15 nm to 250 nm and the diameters of the individual dots ranged from 12 nm to 5 μm.

Board Patterning Compound / Solvent (s) Possible uses Remarks and Notes Au n-octadecanethiol / acetonitrile, ethanol Basic research Study of intermolecular forces. Langmuir 10, 3315 (1994) Micro Manufacturing Etch Resist Etchant: KCN / O ₂ (pH-14). J. Vac. Sci. Technol . B, 13, 1139 (1995) Dodecanethiol / acetonitrile, ethanol Molecular electromagnetics Superlattices and Microstructures 18, 275 (1995) n-hexadecanethiol / acetonitrile, ethanol Micro Manufacturing Etch Resist Etchant: KCN / O ₂ (pH-14). Langmuir , 15, 300 (1999) n-docosanthiol / acetonitrile, ethanol Micro Manufacturing Etch Resist Etchant: KCN / O ₂ (pH-14) J. Vac. Sci. Technol . B, 13, 2846 (1995) 11-mercapto-1-undecanol / acetonitrile, ethanol Surface functionalization SiO ₂ cluster capture. 16-mercapto-1-hexadecanoic acid / acetonitrile, ethanol Basic research Study of intermolecular forces. Langmuir 14, 1508 (1998) Surface functionalization SiO ₂ , SnO ₂ cluster capture. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 114, 5221 (1992) Octanedithiol / acetonitrile, ethanol Basic research Study of intermolecular forces. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 37, L299 (1998) Hexanedithiol / acetonitrile, ethanol Surface functionalization Capturing gold cluster. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 114, 5221 (1992) Propanedithiol / acetonitrile, ethanol Basic research Study of intermolecular forces. J. Am. Chem. Soc. , 114, 5221 (1992) α, α'-p-xylyldithiol / acetonitrile, ethanol Surface functionalization Capturing gold cluster. Science , 272, 1323 (1996) Molecular electromagnetics Conducting nanometer scale junction. Science , 272, 1323 (1996) 4,4'-biphenyldithiol / acetonitrile, ethanol Surface functionalization Capturing gold and CdS clusters. Inorganica Chemica Acta 242, 115 (1996) Terphenyldithiol / acetonitrile, ethanol Surface functionalization Capturing gold and CdS clusters. Inorganica Chemica Acta 242, 115 (1996) Terphenyldiisocyanide / acetonitrile, methylene chloride Surface functionalization Capturing gold and CdS clusters. Inorganica Chemica Acta 242, 115 (1996) Molecular electromagnetics Conductive coating on nanometer sized gold clusters. Superlatices and Microstructures , 18, 275 (1995) DNA / Water: Acetonitrile (1: 3) Gene detection DNA probes for detecting biological cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. , 119, 8916 (1997)

Board Patterning Compound / Solvent (s) Possible uses Remarks and Notes Ag n-hexadecanethiol / acetonitrile, ethanol Microgenerated Etch Resist Etching agent: Fe (NO ₃ ) ₃ (pH ~ 6). Microelectron. Eng. , 32, 255 (1996) Al 2-mercaptoacetic acid / acetonitrile, ethanol Surface functionalization CdS cluster capture. J. Am. Chem. Soc. , 114, 5221 (1992) GaAs-100 n-octadecanethiol / acetonitrile, ethanol Basic research Self-Associated Monolayer Formation` Microgenerated Etch Resist HCl / HNO ₃ (pH-1) J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B , 11, 2823 (1993) TiO ₂ n-octadecanethiol / acetonitrile, ethanol Microgenerated Etch Resist SiO ₂ 16-mercapto-1-hexadecanoic acid / acetonitrile, ethanol Surface functionalization Capture Gold and CdS Clusters Octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS, CH ₃ (CH ₂ ) ₁₇ -SiCl ₃ ) 1.2 nm thickness SAM / hexane Microgenerated Etch Resist Etching agent: HF / NH4F (pH-2). Appl. Phys. Lett. 70, 1953 (1997) APTS, 3- (2-aminoethylamino) propyltrimethoxysilane / water Surface functionalization Take nanometer size gold clusters. Appl. Phys. Lett. 70, 2759 (1997)

Example 3: Nuclear Microscopy with Coated Tips

As mentioned above, when the AFM is operated in air, moisture condenses between the tip and the surface and is scanned across the surface of the tip and transported by capillary action. See, eg, Piner et al., Langmuir 13,6864-6868 (1997). In particular, these filled capillaries, and the capillary forces associated with these capillaries, significantly impede the operation of the AFM, especially when driven in a lateral force manner. See, eg, Noy et al . , J Am. Chem. Soc. 117, 7943-7951 (1995); Wilbur et al., Langmuir 11, 825-831 (1995). In air, the capillary force between the tip and the sample is approximately 10 times greater than the chemical bond force. Thus, capillary forces can substantially affect the structure and imaging process of the sample. To make matters worse, the magnitude of this effect will depend on various variables, including the relative hydrophobicity of the tip and sample, the relative humidity and the scan rate. For this reason, many research groups have decided to work on solution cells where the effect is more uniform and reproducible. See, eg, Frisbie et al., Science 265, 2071-2074 (1994); Noy et al., Langmuir 14, 1508-1511 (1998). However, this can make you feel awkward when using AFM and the solvent can affect the structure of the material to be imaged. See, eg, Vezenov et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 119, 2006-2015 (1997). Thus, other methods that can image in air with reduced or eliminated capillary effects would be desirable.

This embodiment describes one such method. This method involves modifying the silicon nitride AFM tip with a physical adsorption layer of 1-dodecylamine. Such tips improve the ability to perform LFM in air (particularly in soft materials) by substantially reducing capillary forces and providing higher resolution.

All data described in this example were obtained using a Park Scientific Model CP AFM equipped with an AFM / LFM head. Cantilever (Model No. MLCT-AUNM) was obtained from Park Scientific, which has a gold coated microlever, silicon nitride tip, cantilever A, spring constant = 0.05 N / m. The AFM was placed in a park vibration isolation chamber transformed with a dry nitrogen purge line. In addition, the humidity (range of 5% to 12%) was measured using an electronic hygrometer placed inside the chamber. Dolomite green mica was obtained from Ted Pella, Inc. Soda-lime glass microscope slides were obtained from Fisher. Polystyrene spheres with a diameter of 0.23 ± 0.002 μm were purchased from Polysciences, and Si ₃ N ₄ on silicon was obtained from the MCNC MEMS Technology Application Center. 1-dodecylamine (99 +%) was purchased from Aldrich Chemical Inc. and used without further purification. Acetonitrile (ACS grade) was purchased from Fisher Scientific Instruments, Inc.

Two methods of coating AFM tips with 1-dodecylamine were investigated. The first method involves saturating ethanol or acetonitrile with 1-dodecylamine and then depositing droplets of this solution on a glass substrate. Upon drying 1-dodecylamine formed a microcrystalline phase on the glass substrate. To load 1-dodecylamine on the AFM tip, the tip was repeatedly scanned (scan rate of ˜5 Hz) across the microcrystalline phase. Although this method is simple, it was not loaded to the tip at its best since it was difficult to control the amount of 1-dodecylamine transported from the substrate to the tip.

A better way was to transfer dodecylamine directly from solution to the AFM cantilever. This method involved immersing the AFM cantilever and tip in acetonitrile for several minutes to remove any residual contaminants on the tip. The tip was then immersed in -5 mM 1-dodecylamine / acetonitrile solution for about 30 seconds. In the next step, the tip was blow dried with compression freon. Usually, repeating this procedure several times yielded the best results. 1-dodecylamine is physically adsorbed rather than chemically adsorbed on silicon nitride tips. Moreover, dodecylamine can be removed by washing the tip with acetonitrile as in the case of bulk silicon nitride. See, eg, Benoit et al. Microbeam and Nanobeam Analysis; Springer Verlag, (1996). Deforming the tip in this way significantly reduces the capillary effect due to moisture condensation of the atmosphere, as evidenced by the various experiments described below.

First, the lateral force output signal was recorded as a function of time using a digital oscilloscope directly connected to the lateral force detector of the AFM. In this experiment, the direction of friction was reversed when the tip was scanned from left to right compared to scanning from right to left. Therefore, the output signal of the LFM detector changed polarity whenever the scanning direction of the tip changed. When one or more AFM raster scans were recorded, the output signal shape of the detector was in the form of a square wave, as shown in FIGS. Since the height of the square wave is directly proportional to the sliding friction of the tip relative to the sample, the friction force between the undeformed tip and the glass substrate can be modified by simply comparing the height of the square wave under almost the same scanning and environmental conditions. It can be compared with the friction between the tip and the glass substrate.

The frictional force of the tip / sample was less than coefficient 3 or more at the deformed tip than the undeformed tip. This experiment was repeated on the mica substrate, at which similar friction reduction was observed. Typically, the reduction in friction measured under these conditions in this manner was less by a range of coefficients 3 to greater than coefficient 10 at the tip modified with environmental conditions such as substrate and relative humidity.

Although the experiments showed that treatment of AFM tips with 1-dodecylamine reduced friction, water and capillary forces were not important factors. In another experiment, the effect of 1-dodecylamine on capillary transport of moisture was not investigated. Details of water transport, including unmodified tips, have been discussed in other literature. See, eg, Piner et al., Langmuir 13, 6864-6868 (1997). When scanning the AFM tip across the sample, moisture was transported to the sample by capillary action as shown in FIG. 5A. After scanning the 4 μm × 5 μm region of the soda glass substrate for several minutes, adjacent moisture adlayers were deposited on the substrate and imaged by LFM with increasing scan size. As shown in FIG. 5A, the low friction region where moisture was deposited appeared darker than the unpainted region. In the same experiment performed with the tip coated with 1-dodecylamine, there was no evidence of substantial water transport as shown in FIG. 5B. Moreover, only random variables in friction were observed.

These experiments show that friction is reduced and water transport from the tip to the substrate by capillary action can be suppressed by coating the tip with 1-dodecylamine, but it does not provide information about the resolution of the modified tip. I couldn't. Mica is an excellent substrate for evaluating these items, and furthermore, it was easy to obtain a lattice resolved image using the deformed tip, as shown in Fig. 6A, so that the deforming process did not blunt the tip as shown in Figure 6A. Prove that it reduces. It was not possible to determine if some of the tips involved in imaging were their own tips or tips having a layer of 1-dodecylamine thereon. In fact, the layer of 1-dodecylamine seems to be mechanically removed from the part of the tip exposing Si ₃ N ₄ itself. In any case, because the moisture inhibited the filling of the capillaries surrounding the contact points (see above), the rest of the tip had to have a hydrophobic layer of dodecylamine thereon.

The atomic scale imaging capability of AFM was not adversely affected by the 1-dodecylamine coating of the tip, but the experiment did not provide useful information about the tip's suitability for obtaining larger scale morphological data. To obtain such information, a sample of 0.23 μm diameter latex spheres that were simply dispersed was imaged with deformed and undeformed tips. Since the topography recorded by AFM is the convolution of the tip shape and the sample shape, any change in tip shape will reflect the change in the imaged topography of the latex spheres. As shown in FIGS. 7A-B, no detectable difference was found in the images obtained with the unmodified tip and the modified tip, respectively. This means that the shape of the tip did not change significantly compared to what would appear when the metallic coating evaporated to the tip. In addition, this suggests that the 1-dodecylamine coating was very uniform on the surface of the tip and was satisfactory in shape that would not cause adverse effects on atomic scale imaging.

An important point of discussion concerns the performance of deformed tips in imaging soft materials. Typically, it is difficult to determine whether a chemically modified tip has improved performance over its own tip. This is because chemical modification is often an irreversible process that requires deposition of the interlayer. However, since the modification process reported herein is based on the physical adsorption layer of 1-dodecylamine, it was possible to compare the performance of the tip with 1-dodecylamine removed before, after deformation and by washing. . Quantitatively, tips modified with 1-dodecylamine always provided a significant improvement in the imaging of alkanediol based monolayers and organic crystals deposited on various substrates. For example, lattice resolved images of hydrophobic 11-mercapto-1-undecanol self-associated on Au (111) surface were readily obtained with modified tips as shown in FIG. 6B. The grating could not be resolved with the same AFM tip undeformed. At this surface, the coated tip exhibited a friction reduction of at least a factor of 5 during the square wave analysis (see above). It should be noted that the OH-terminated SAM is hydrophilic and therefore has a strong capillary attraction to a clean tip. The reduction of capillary force due to deformation of the tip enables imaging of the grating.

A second embodiment for improved resolution relates to the imaging of freely stationary liquid surfaces such as moisture condensed on mica. It is well known that at 30-40% humidity, the mica phase has two phases. See, eg, Hu et al., Science 268, 267-269 (1995). In previous work by the study group, these images were imaged using a non-contact scanning polarization force microscope (SPFM). When the probe tip contacts the mica, it was found that the strong capillary force moistened the tip, strongly inhibiting mica water condensation. In order to reduce the capillary effect so that two phases of moisture can be imaged, the tip was ˜20 nm away from the surface. Due to this pressure, such a scanning image cannot be imaged by a contact scanning probe technique. 6C-D show images of two phases of mica phase moisture recorded in contact mode using a tip modified with 1-dodecylamine at 30% humidity. The height of the shape (Fig. 6C) corresponded to the friction map (Fig. 6D), and the higher the shape, the less friction. The quality of the modified tip, which is thought to correlate with the uniformity of 1-dodecylamine on the tip, was important. Only well deformed tips allowed imaging of two phases of moisture, while low deformed tips resulted in poor quality images. In fact, this was a test that was sensitive enough to be used as a diagnostic indicator used to measure the quality of a tip modified with 1-dodecylamine before performing the procedure on another sample.

In conclusion, this example describes a very simple but very useful method of making Si ₃ N ₄ AFM tips hydrophobic. This deformation procedure reduces capillary forces and improves the performance of AFM in air. Importantly, this method has no side effects on the shape of the AFM tip and allows to obtain lattice resolved images of hydrophilic substrates, including soft materials such as freely suspended moisture on SAM and even solid supports. Although solution cells can reduce the effects of capillary forces, the development of methodologies for obtaining such information in the air is very important because the structure of the soft material is significantly affected by the solvent. See, eg, Vezenov et al., J. Am. Soc. 119, 2006-2015 (1997). After all, it is difficult to do so without blunting the AFM tip, although it is possible to first coat the AFM tip with a metal layer and then derivatize the metal layer with a chemisorbed hydrophobic organic layer to make the tip more hydrophobic.

Example 4: Multicomponent "Dip Pen" Nanolithography

The inability to arrange patterns produced by nanoscale lithography, composed of chemically distinct materials, is a problem that limits the development of nanoelectronics in solid state and molecular substrates. See, eg, Reed et al., Science 278, 252 (1997); Feldheim et al. , Chem. Soc. Rev. 27, 1 (1998). The primary reason for this problem is that many lithography processes are 1) dependent on masking or stamping procedures, 2) use a resist layer, 3) face severe thermal drift problems, and 4) optical Because it depends on the pattern arrangement based See, eg, Campbell, The Science and Engineering of Microelectronic Fabrication (Oxford Press); Chou et al. , Appl. Phys. Lett. 67, 3114 (1995); Wang et al. , Appl. Phys. Lett. 70, 1593 (1997); Jackman et al., Science 269, 664 (1995); Kim et al ., Nature 376, 581 (1995); Schoer et al., Langmuir 13, 2323 (1997); Whelan et al. , Appl. Phys. Lett. 69, 4245 (1996); Younkin et al. , Appl. Phys. Lett. 71, 1261 (1997); Bottomley, Anal. Chem. 70, 425 R. (1998); Nyffenegger and Penner, Chem. Rev. 97, 1195 (1997); Berggren, et al., Science 269, 1255 (1995); Sondag-Huethorst et al. , Appl. Phys. Lett. 64, 285 (1994); Schoer and Crooks, Langmuir 13, 2323 (1997); Xu and Liu, Langmuir 13, 127 (1997); Perkins, et al. , Appl. Phys. Lett. 68, 550 (1996); Carr, et al . , J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 15, 1446 (1997); Sugimura et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 14, 1223 (1996); Komeda et al . , J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 16, 1680 (1998); Muller et al . , J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 13, 2846 (1995); And Kim and M. Lieber, Science 257, 375 (1992).

In terms of shape size, the resist-based optical method reproducibly pattern many materials in the soft or solid state in a line and spatial resolution regime of> 100 nm wide, while electron beam lithography methods produce patterning on the 10-200 nm scale. Make it possible. For soft lithography, electron beam lithography and optical methods rely on the refilling of the resist layer and the regions etched with the component molecules. This indirect patterning method impairs the chemical purity of the resulting structure and limits the type of material that can be patterned. In addition, when one or more materials are patterned by lithography, the optically based pattern arrangement method used in this technique limits the spatial resolution to about 100 nm.

This example describes the creation of multicomponent nanostructures by DPN, showing that two different soft material patterns can be produced by this technique in an almost perfect arrangement and at a spatial resolution of 10 nm. . These results should reveal many methods to those interested in molecular based electronics and conventional macro-accessible microelectronic circuits that create, arrange, and modulate soft structures.

Unless otherwise limited, DPNs were performed on atomically flat Au (111) substrates using conventional machines (Park Scientific CP AFM) and Cantilever (Park Scientific Microlever A). The atomically flat Au (111) substrate was prepared by first heating the mica flakes at 120 ° C. for 12 hours to remove possible moisture and then thermally evaporating 30 nm of gold to the mica surface at 220 ° C. in a vacuum. Using an atomically flat Au (111) substrate, a 15 nm wide line can be deposited. In order to prevent piezo tube drift problems, a 100 μm scanner (Park Scientific) equipped with a closed loop scan regulator was used for all experiments. The patterning compound was either coated on the tip (immersion in solution) or by vapor deposition (for liquid and low melting solids) as described in Example 1. Vapor deposition was performed by suspending a silicon nitride cantilever at 1 cm on a patterning compound (ODT) in a 100 mL reaction vessel. The system was closed and heated at 60 ° C. for 20 minutes and then cooled to room temperature before use of the coated tip. SEM analysis of the tip before and after coating by dipping in solution or vapor deposition showed that the patterning compound was uniformly coated on the tip. The uniform coating on the tip not only deposits the patterning compound on the substrate in a controlled manner but also results in high quality images.

Since DPN allows imaging of such nanostructures by the same means used to form nanostructures, it was possible to create fine registry nanostructures made of different soft materials. The basic idea of generating multiple patterns in the registry by DPN is similar to the strategy of creating multiple component structures by electron beam lithography that relies on array masks. However, the DPN method has two unique advantages in that it does not use resist or optical methods to localize the array mask. For example, with DPN, a substrate with an Au (111) face (atomicly flat Au (111) surface is maintained by keeping the MHA-coated tip in contact with the Au (111) surface for 10 seconds (0.1 nN). ) Creates a 15 nm diameter self-assembled monolayer (SAM) dot of 1,16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHA) on the same) as described above for the substrate). May be done (see FIG. 9A). By increasing the scan size, the patterned points are imaged with the same tip by lateral force microscopy (LFM). Since SAM and the gold of its own are very different in wettability, LFM provides good contrast. See, eg, Wilbur et al., Langmuir 11, 825 (1995). Based on the position of the first pattern, the coordinates of the additional pattern can be determined (see FIG. 9B), which enables accurate placement of the second pattern of MHA points. Note the uniformity of the points (FIG. 9A), and note that the maximum misalignment of the first pattern with respect to the second pattern should be less than 10 nm (see upper right corner of FIG. 9C). The elapsed time to generate data between FIGS. 9A and 9C was 10 minutes, which means that DPN can be used for patterning of organic monolayers with better spatial and pattern array resolution than 10 nm at ambient conditions under moderate control of the environment. It means that there is.

The method for patterning with multiple patterning compounds required additional modifications to the experiments described above. Since the MHA SAM dot pattern was imaged using a tip coated with the patterning compound, it appears that a small amount of undetectable patterning compound was deposited during imaging. This can have a significant impact on the structure of molecular substrates in some applications of DPN, particularly in the field of handling electronic measurements. To overcome this problem, a micron-scale array mask (crosshair of FIG. 10A) made using MHA coated tips was used to accurately position the nanostructures in the original area on the Au substrate. In a typical experiment, an initial pattern of 50 nm parallel lines consisting of MHA and 190 nm separated was prepared (see FIG. 10A). This pattern was 2 μm away from the outer array mask. It should be noted that the image of these lines was not imaged to avoid contamination of the patterned area. The tip coated with MHA was then replaced with the tip coated with ODT. This tip was used to localize the array mask and patterned the substrate with a second set of parallel ODT SAM lines using precomputed coordinates (FIG. 10B) based on the position of the array mask (FIG. 10C). It should be noted that in such a way that these lines are interlocked with each other, they are located in a near perfect registry for the first set of MHA SAM lines (see FIG. 10C).

One of the unique capabilities of DPNs is called "overwriting". Overwriting involves creating a soft structure with a certain patterning compound and then filling it with a second type of patterning compound across the original nanostructure. As a further test of the spherical experiments to demonstrate the ability of multiple patterning compounds, high registries, and DPN over a moderately wide area, three geometries (100 triangles) with 100 nm wide lines using MHA coated tips Squares and pentagons). The tip was then replaced with an ODT coated tip and the ODT coated tip by 20 raster scans (contact force ˜0.1 nN) across the substrate in a 10 μm × 8.5 μm area containing the original nanostructures. Overwritten (dark part in Figure 11). Since water was used as the transport medium in this experiment, and the water solubility of the patterning compound used in this experiment was very low, it was essentially detectable between the molecule used to create the nanostructure and the molecule used to overwrite the exposed gold. There was no possible change (FIG. 11).

In sum, DPN's high resolution multiple patterning compound registration capability has been demonstrated. On the atomically flat Au (111) surface, a pattern of 15 nm was produced with better spatial resolution than 10 nm. Even on rough surfaces such as amorphous gold, spatial resolution was better than conventional photo-lithography methods and electron beam lithography methods for patterning soft materials.

Claims (45)

Providing a substrate; Providing a scanning probe microscope tip; Coating the tip with a patterning compound; Contacting the coated tip to a substrate such that the compound is applied to the substrate to form a desired pattern Nanolithography method comprising the. The compound of claim 1, wherein the substrate is gold and the patterning compound is a protein or a peptide or is of formula R ₁ SH, R ₁ SSR ₂ , R ₁ SR ₂ , R ₁ SO ₂ H, (R ₁ ) ₃ P, R ₁ NC, R ₁ CN, (R ₁ ) ₃ N, R ₁ COOH or ArSH {where R ₁ and R ₂ have the general formula _n X (CH _2), respectively, if the compound is substituted with both R ₁ and R _2, R ₁ and R ₂ may be the same or different; n is 0 to 30; Ar is aryl; X is -CH ₃ , -CHCH ₃ , -COOH, -CO ₂ (CH ₂ ) _m CH ₃ , -OH, -CH ₂ OH, ethylene glycol, hexa (ethylene glycol), -O (CH ₂ ) _m CH ₃ , -NH ₂ , -NH (CH ₂ ) _m NH ₂ , halogen, glucose, maltose, fullerene C60, nucleic acid, protein or ligand; m is 0 to 30}. The method of claim 2, wherein the patterning compound has formula R ₁ SH or ArSH. The method of claim 3, wherein the patterning compound is propanedithiol, hexanedithiol, octanedithiol, n-hexadecanethiol, n-octadecanethiol, n-docosanthiol, 11-mercapto-1-undecanol, 16-mercapto-1-hexadecanoic acid, α, α'-p-xylyldithiol, 4,4'-biphenyldithiol, terphenyldithiol or DNA-alkanethiol. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate is aluminum, gallium arsenide or titanium dioxide, and the patterning compound is represented by the formula R ₁ SH { R ₁ has the formula X (CH ₂ ) _n , n is 0 to 30; X is -CH ₃ , -CHCH ₃ , -COOH, -CO ₂ (CH ₂ ) _m CH ₃ , -OH, -CH ₂ OH, ethylene glycol, hexa (ethylene glycol), -O (CH ₂ ) _m CH ₃ , -NH ₂ , -NH (CH ₂ ) _m NH ₂ , halogen, glucose, maltose, fullerene C60, nucleic acid, protein or ligand; m is 0 to 30}. The method of claim 5, wherein the patterning compound is 2-mercaptoacetic acid or n-octadecanethiol. The compound of claim 1, wherein the substrate is silicon dioxide and the patterning compound is a protein or a peptide or is of formula R ₁ SH or R ₁ SiCl ₃ { R ₁ has the formula X (CH ₂ ) _n , n is 0 to 30; X is -CH ₃ , -CHCH ₃ , -COOH, -CO ₂ (CH ₂ ) _m CH ₃ , -OH, -CH ₂ OH, ethylene glycol, hexa (ethylene glycol), -O (CH ₂ ) _m CH ₃ , -NH ₂ , -NH (CH ₂ ) _m NH ₂ , halogen, glucose, maltose, fullerene C60, nucleic acid, protein or ligand; m is 0 to 30}. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the patterning compound is 16-mercapto-1-hexadecanoic acid, octadecyltrichlorosilane or 3- (2-aminoethylamino) propyltrimethoxysilane. The method of claim 1, wherein the tip is coated with the patterning compound by contacting the tip with the patterning compound solution one or more times. The method of claim 9, further comprising drying the tip each time it is removed from the patterning compound solution, wherein the dried tip is contacted with a substrate to form a desired pattern. 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising drying the tip each time it is removed from the patterning compound solution except at the last, leaving it still wet when contacted with the substrate to form the desired pattern. The method of claim 9, The tip is used to apply the pattern to the substrate and then cleaned; Coating the tip with a different patterning compound; And contacting said coated tip with a substrate such that a patterning compound is applied to the substrate to form a desired pattern. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the cleaning, coating and contacting steps are repeated using as many different patterning compounds as necessary to produce the desired pattern (s). The method of claim 13, further comprising providing a placement system for arranging one pattern with respect to the other pattern (s). The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tips are provided. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of tips is contacted with the same patterning compound. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of tips are contacted with a plurality of patterning compounds. The method of claim 15, wherein each tip makes the same pattern as the other tip (s). 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising providing a placement system for arranging one pattern relative to another pattern (s). The method of claim 15, wherein the at least one tip is different from the one made by the other tip (s). The method of claim 20, further comprising providing a placement system for arranging one pattern with respect to the other pattern (s). The method of claim 1, wherein the tip is coated with a first patterning compound to provide a portion or all of the second patterning compound that is capable of reacting or stably binding to the first patterning compound, which is already applied on a substrate. 1 Method used to apply patterning compound. The method of claim 1, further comprising treating the tip prior to coating with the patterning compound to enhance physical adsorption of the patterning compound. The method of claim 23, wherein the tip is coated with a thin solid adhesion layer to enhance physical adsorption of the patterning compound. The method of claim 24, wherein the tip is coated with titanium or chromium to form a thin solid adhesion layer. The method of claim 23 wherein the patterning compound is present in an aqueous solution and the tip is treated to be hydrophilic to enhance physical adsorption of the patterning compound. 27. The method of any one of claims 1 to 26, wherein the tip is an atomic force microscope tip. 27. A substrate having a pattern formed by the method of any one of claims 1 to 26. Board; And Kit for nanolithography comprising a scanning probe microscope tip. 30. The kit of claim 29, wherein said tip is an atomic force microscope tip. 31. The kit of claim 29 or 30 comprising a plurality of tips. 30. The kit of claim 29, further comprising one or more containers, each holding a patterning compound. 33. The method of claim 32, wherein the substrate is gold and the patterning compound is a protein or peptide or a compound of formula R ₁ SH, R ₁ SSR ₂ , R ₁ SR ₂ , R ₁ SO ₂ H, (R ₁ ) ₃ P, R ₁ NC, R ₁ CN, (R ₁ ) ₃ N, R ₁ COOH or ArSH {where R ₁ and R ₂ have the general formula _n X (CH _2), respectively, if the compound is substituted with both R ₁ and R _2, R ₁ and R ₂ may be the same or different; n is 0 to 30; Ar is aryl; X is -CH ₃ , -CHCH ₃ , -COOH, -CO ₂ (CH ₂ ) _m CH ₃ , -OH, -CH ₂ OH, ethylene glycol, hexa (ethylene glycol), -O (CH ₂ ) _m CH ₃ , -NH ₂ , -NH (CH ₂ ) _m NH ₂ , halogen, glucose, maltose, fullerene C60, nucleic acid, protein or ligand; m is 0 to 30}. The kit of claim 33, wherein the patterning compound has formula R ₁ SH or ArSH. The method of claim 34, wherein the patterning compound is propanedithiol, hexanedithiol, octanedithiol, n-hexadecanethiol, n-octadecanethiol, n-docosanthiol, 11-mercapto-1-undecanol, 16-mercapto-1-hexadecanoic acid, α, α'-p-xylyldithiol, 4,4'-biphenyldithiol, terphenyldithiol or DNA-alkanethiol. 33. The method of claim 32, wherein the substrate is aluminum, gallium arsenide, or titanium dioxide, and wherein the patterning compound is of the formula R ₁ SH { R ₁ has the formula X (CH ₂ ) _n , n is 0 to 30; X is -CH ₃ , -CHCH ₃ , -COOH, -CO ₂ (CH ₂ ) _m CH ₃ , -OH, -CH ₂ OH, ethylene glycol, hexa (ethylene glycol), -O (CH ₂ ) _m CH ₃ , -NH ₂ , -NH (CH ₂ ) _m NH ₂ , halogen, glucose, maltose, fullerene C60, nucleic acid, protein or ligand; m is 0 to 30}. 37. The kit of claim 36, wherein said patterning compound is 2-mercaptoacetic acid or n-octadecanethiol. The method of claim 32, wherein the substrate is silicon dioxide and the patterning compound is a protein or a peptide or is of formula R ₁ SH or R ₁ SiCl ₃ { R ₁ has the formula X (CH ₂ ) _n , n is 0 to 30; X is -CH ₃ , -CHCH ₃ , -COOH, -CO ₂ (CH ₂ ) _m CH ₃ , -OH, -CH ₂ OH, ethylene glycol, hexa (ethylene glycol), -O (CH ₂ ) _m CH ₃ , -NH ₂ , -NH (CH ₂ ) _m NH ₂ , halogen, glucose, maltose, fullerene C60, nucleic acid, protein or ligand; m is 0 to 30}. The kit of claim 38 wherein the patterning compound is 16-mercapto-1-hexadecanoic acid, octadecyltrichlorosilane or 3- (2-aminoethylamino) propyltrimethoxysilane. Providing an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip; Coating the AMF tip with the hydrophobic compound by contacting the AFM tip with a hydrophobic compound selected to improve AFM imaging using the coated AFM tip over AFM imaging using the same uncoated tip; Performing atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging in air, comprising performing AFM imaging in air using the coated tip. 41. The compound of claim 40, wherein the hydrophobic compound is of formula R ₄ NH ₂ wherein R ₄ is alkyl or aryl of formula CH ₃ (CH ₂ ) _n ; n is 0 to 30}. 42. The method of claim 41, wherein said hydrophobic compound is 1-dodecylamine. An atomic force microscope (AFM) tip coated with a hydrophobic compound selected to improve AFM imaging in air using a coated atomic force microscope (AFM) tip over an AFM imaging performed using the same uncoated tip. The compound of claim 43, wherein the formula R ₄ NH ₂ wherein R ₄ is alkyl or aryl of the formula CH ₃ (CH ₂ ) _n ; n is 0 to 30}. 45. The tip of claim 44 coated with 1-dodecylamine.